Bibler Tents Torre Tents Review

DescriptionFour Easton 7075 aluminum poles give the neccessary strength to endure even the most extreme weather. Our patent-pending T-Tape construction provides two built-in doors and two integrated vestibules that make life easier on the inside, while adding thirteen additional square feet of protection on the outside.

Summary:A little too cozy for two winter bags: $300 will buy you a wider, lighter and more stable tent (ie: the Fitzroy). Narrow doors give it a sleek front profile, but impede entry. A single seam (noooo!) in the center of the floor needs to be sealed.
Pack it rear first, with the front door open and vestibule door zipped down. Set it up by staking out the inner front door first. Slide the assembled poles in and climb in. Getting the other ends of the poles in means bending them in on themselves and simultaneously through the widest part of the bottom of the entrance. The rest is very simple.
A hanging stove will rid the inside of any condensation. Enjoy the scenery while your snow boils for coffee. Isn’t that why you came in the first place?
This tent is union made: What could be more American than that? Your multiseamed double wall is too labor intensive to be made in the USA. The Tempest is made from appropriate materials by people who are the best at what they do. I can’t begin to describe my first rainstorm in this tent. If I were deaf, I wouldn’t have known it was raining. The air was utterly unaffected inside. On summer outings, leave the x-frame poles behind in favor of a five pound, two person hoop tent. Just don’t forget the stakes.

Customer Service:A friend of a friend spent a few weeks on Everest popped a seam. They returned the repaired tent, completely cleaned at no charge.

Summary:This is the lightest roomiest tent made. Setup is fairly easy once you get used to it, and much less work than pitching a tent AND fly. Interior walls do a nice job of soaking up condensation, I don't know why people complain about it. I had some reservations about it's summer usage, but now think it does just fine in 4 season use. In a serious wind storm it just doesn't budge. If you want a tent that you don't have to worry about winter or summer,[ and frankly I have had tents blow down during the "nice" summer months], this is it. Biblers 'I-tents' are lighter and even easier to set up but have no vestibules.
I do have two complaints about it though. First, the light fabric on the inside door is pulling at the stiching making tiny pinhole areas, it almost looks like it is tearing. I sent it back to Bibler/Black diamond and they sent it back,not repaired, with no explaination. No note, no call to tell me that someone had inspected it, nothing. I didn't even know if anybody had LOOKED at the tent. I called them and asked if they had inspected the problem. They said they had and that the area in question was not a problem. Now at least it would have been nice to have someone at Bibler write a note, or call or e-mail me or something, instead of sending it back to me with no explaination. The fabric stress does not seem to have gotten worse yet....
Oh yeah, now Bibler offers the tent, [now called the 'tempest'], at a lower price, $500 VS.$800. They said the reason is that the new version is not seam taped, you have to seam seal it yourself. I did that to mine anyway. I guess I would buy another one despite the questionable service just because the thing is 4-6lbs. lighter than anything else on the market.It's a love/hate thing, I mean I'm not going to sell it and buy a heavy, cramped, hard to set up N.F. Mountain tent or a heavy, cramped, hard to set up Mt. Hardware Trango or a... you get the idea.

Summary:I didn't really want a full size, two person tent, for an Alaskan solo trip, but I couldn't see spending the big bucks on a tent that I would never be able to stuff two normal sized (6' plus) climbers into. Afet sifting through "add on" vestibule weights, etc., the Torre is actually only .5 lb. heavier than other Bibler tents, AND you get 2 vestibules, not just one!I like the extra headroom, and a couple of pair of climbing boots fit into the smaller vestibule perfectly. I replaced all of the guy lines with Kelty "Trip tease" reflective cord, making zipper pulls out of the reflective stuff as well. PRACTICE setting this bad boy up at home at least twenty times before you take it out for real. (Pole sequencing is key.....)Once up, the tent stayed quiet in high winds, shedding 50-70 mph gusts like a hot knife through butter. Be prepared, a single wall tent is AT LEAST 10-15 degrees colder than a double wall.......While the tent comes fully taped, I spent 4 hours seam sealing every stitch on the tent. (Use a large bore hypodermic needle for best results)I chose the yellow color, because the green seemed depressing, but the thermal warming provided by the darker color now seems the wiser way to go. This tent has no business being used in the summer, or in temperatures above 40 degrees. Money well spent........I'll have it for a lifetime!